How To Protect Your New Car Exterior

If you’re like half of U.S. homeowners, you probably don’t have a covered parking spot or garage to protect your car from the elements. In addition to the damage mother nature can cause to a car’s exterior paint, countless man-made chemicals and toxins will also cause significant wear and tear.

Finding ways to protect your vehicle’s beautiful trim and glossy color can be challenging, but several products are available to extend its beauty and luster for its lifetime. However, before you go to the store and pick up a spray-on coating or wax, it’s important to understand the hazards they are designed to protect against.

Why Your Paint Job Is at Risk

If you’re a daily commuter, your car’s paint job gets exposed to countless elements that can chip, discolor, and scratch its shiny finish. While most of these won’t immediately penetrate below the factory coating, when it does, your vehicle’s metal will begin to oxidize and corrode.

The most common threats to your new auto’s factory finish include:

UV Rays

Summertime is a season everyone enjoys. Warmer weather and sunny skies mean more time outdoors having fun, but the paint damage caused by longer exposure to harmful UVA rays is undeniable. Combine that with the intense heat from infrared rays, and even your car’s interior can fade and crack.

Nature

Another culprit behind damage to your car’s exterior is toxins from nature. Tacky bug splatter and acidic bird droppings can do a number on any painted surface. From buildings and park equipment to traffic signs and vehicles, this natural waste stains and burns its way into the underlying metal of your vehicle hood and roof.

Pollution

Have you ever seen a truck with the words “wash me” finger painted in the dirty film covering the rear doors? These are carbon emissions that leave behind a dusty particulate layer on the surfaces of vehicles exposed to heavily polluted roadways and city streets. If you don’t wash your car’s exterior regularly, this form of man-made pollution will bond to the surface and eat away at your finish.

Best Protection for a New Car’s Exterior

Whether you park your vehicle in a garage every night or not, it will get exposed to the previously mentioned elements when you drive it. So, what can you do to protect your car’s beauty against these hazards?

Depending on your budget, several DIY and professionally applied methods will work. Below is a general overview of each:

Waxes

Wax is one of the oldest and most affordable methods of protecting your car’s paint job against dirt. When applied correctly, it can last for three or four months, but this can be impacted by how often you wash your auto, the brand used, and how often you expose your car’s exterior to the elements mentioned.

It’s also important to note that wax doesn’t protect against deep scratches, scuffing, or chemical damage.

Clear Sealants

If you want to enhance your car’s glow and protect it, a chemical sealant over the exterior may be best. It lasts up to six months at a time and is effective against damaging UVA rays, tree sap, and some chemicals. But, like wax, its effectiveness can be short-lived if you frequently wash the exterior and the sealant’s formula.

Ceramic Coating

A ceramic coat is a liquid polymer that bonds with your car’s exterior paint to create a hard shell barrier against certain elements. While it can prevent bird droppings from sticking and makes it a cinch to rinse off pollutants, road debris could still chip its surface. Also, tree sap can potentially bake on if allowed to heat up in the sun and get removed right away.

Another important factor to consider is that a professional should apply it since this product cannot be wiped off if a mistake is made. However, the ceramic coating creates a hydrophobic layer which means it repels water and prevents minerals and dirt from damaging your new car or truck’s exterior.

Clear Paint Protective Film

One of the best methods of protecting your new car’s exterior is transparent paint protective film. Not only does it fend off bird droppings, chemical pollutants, and some chipping and scratches, but it has self-healing properties to provide some level of self-maintenance.

This product also comes in a wide variety of color and pattern options if you want to spice up your vehicle’s appearance. You will need to have it professionally applied, but paint protection film in Charlotte, NC, is widely available and affordable.

Which Paint Protection Option Should You Choose?

The right paint protection for your vehicle will depend on a variety of factors, including:

● Your driving habits. If you have a long commute to work every day or frequently go on road trips, choosing paint protection to prevent damage from flying road debris, pollutants, and bugs would be best.
● Where your car gets parked. If your job’s parking lot is open and directly exposed to hot sunlight every day or maple trees shade your driveway, you need protection that can resist these elements.
● How frequently you wash your car. Remember, some paint protection products are directly affected by washing and polishing. If you often have your vehicle detailed, you will need a hardy coating to protect your paint.

Final Word

When you buy a new car, you’re making a significant investment. So taking care of your vehicle’s exterior will do more than keep it looking beautiful and lustrous. Car paint protection is crucial to fending off oxidization and rust, which means less money spent on autobody work.